Joseph Goes to Baptismal Class
Joseph Anderson Donetti’s eyes were closed. But he wasn’t sleeping. He was listening carefully to all the sounds around him. He could hear birds chattering somewhere. It was almost as if they were arguing. He could hear cars driving slowly down the main street of Jacksonville a couple blocks away. He could hear G.M. breathing softly in the chair next to him.
Joseph smiled a little smile to himself. It was funny. Jacksonville was probably the quietest place he had ever been. But there were still plenty of noises. You just had to listen harder to hear them than you did in the city.
G.M. shifted in the chair, looked at her watch, and closed the Bible she had been reading. “It’s about time for the baptismal class to start,” she said. “Maybe we’d better go over to Mac’s house.”
Joseph jumped off the porch in one easy leap. Just as he landed on the grass, a bright red Jeep pulled up and parked. The door of Mac’s house popped open, and Mac herself flew down the steps. “Pastor Chuck!” she shouted. “The kids aren’t here yet, but I’m sure they will be soon. Trevor said he was coming for sure. Hannah said she would probably come. And Ryan didn’t know. But Joseph, our next-door-neighbor-for-the-summer-who-I-told-you-about, is coming. There he is!” She pointed to Joseph and G.M., just entering the yard.
“I think a proper introduction would be in order,” G.M. said dryly.
Mac danced from one foot to the other. “Pastor Chuck, this is Joseph Anderson Donetti. Joseph, this is Pastor Chuck!” She grinned up at G.M. “That was a pretty good introduction, wasn’t it?” she asked. “I’ve been practicing introductions because my mom said you never know when you might meet someone famous. My dad did! He met the President of the United States once! But even if you never meet anyone famous, my mom says that even ordinary people should be treated with great courtesy!”
G.M.’s eyes twinkled. Pastor Chuck burst out laughing. “It was a perfectintroduction, Mac,” he agreed. He shook Joseph’s hand. “I’m very glad to meet you!” he said.
In no time at all, two more cars stopped. People spilled out. Proper introductions were made. The parents moved on into the house to visit. Pastor Chuck and the kids settled down on the lawn in the back yard underneath the apple tree.
“I’m really glad that each of you has decided to attend this baptismal class,” Pastor Chuck began. “The goal here is to learn more about our wonderful Savior and His plan for our lives.”
Joseph rolled onto his back on the grass. He looked up at the puffy white clouds above him. He smiled another little private smile. The clouds reminded him of his airplane trip to Oregon and of the lady on the plane who had first told him that God had a plan for him. Then, later, Mr. Evans had said the same thing. And G.M., too. And here was one more person telling him again!
“There is a war going on in this world,” Pastor Chuck began. “And there are only two sides. God’s side. And the devil’s side. Everybody in the world is on one side or the other. No one gets to just sit and watch.”
Trevor waved his arm in the air. “How do you know which side you are on?” he asked anxiously.
“That’s a most important question!” Pastor Chuck said. “And the answer is short and easy. You choose whose side you want to be on. Let me tell you a little bit more,” he continued. “The Bible tells us about how God created the world and how the first two people He made decided to sin. Do any of you know where to look in the Bible for the story of creation?”
“I do!” Joseph exclaimed. “It’s in Genesis. It’s the first story in the first book of the Bible! It’s the only story I can find so far,” he admitted.
“Well, that’s a good start,” Pastor Chuck said. “Now let’s talk a little bit more about this choice that everyone in the world has to make. Can you find Romans 6:23?”
Joseph looked helpless. Mac laughed and opened his Bible for him. Trevor and Hannah finally found the book of Romans and then the text.
“I can read it,” Trevor volunteered. After a nod from Pastor Chuck, he read, “‘When someone sins, he earns what sin pays—death. But God gives us a free gift—life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.'”
“OK,” Pastor Chuck said, “now back to the story of creation. When Adam and Eve decided to sin against God, that meant that this world became a sinful place. Their children and their children’s children and everyone who was born after that would be born sinners. And the text in Romans tells us that when someone sins, he must die. But God promised Adam and Eve that His Son Jesus would come to this world and die for all sins. And anyone who wanted to do so could choose to believe that Jesus had died for his sins. Then they could live forever with God—which was God’s plan in the first place!”
“So all you have to do is choose to be on God’s side?” Trevor asked. “You just have to choose? You don’t have to be really, really good or something?”
“That’s it!” Pastor Chuck exclaimed. He looked around slowly at Joseph, Mac, Trevor and Hannah. Then he took his watch off his wrist and laid it on the grass in front of him. “This is my new sports watch,” he said. “It has a stopwatch, and it has an alarm, and it tells the date, and it probably does some other things I haven’t even figured out yet. Do you like it?”
Four heads nodded.
“You can have it,” Pastor Chuck said.
Trevor and Hannah and Mac looked questioningly at each other. Joseph leaned over and picked up the watch.
